Locals make temporary water bodies on the bed of Parch dam for animals
Local residents near Parch dam are working day and night to provide to the animals in the area due to drying up of the dam in the scorching heat. A group of local youths made temporary water bodies on the bed of the dam and filled them with the help of water tankers so that the animals can drink water.
Malkeet Singh, a resident of Parch village, told The Indian Express that he, along with a group of local youths, has been working for the past around two months when the dam started drying up.
According to Malkeet, they made announcements in the neighbouring villages, following which many people came forward to provide financial assistance and arrange water tankers.
“We have been doing it for around two months. With the help of locals, we managed to save hundreds of animals who were dying without water. The rains are delayed which added to the woes but now the situation is far better than it used to be a month and a half ago,” Malkeet added.
Jaggi Bains, another local resident, who had been working to save the animals in the area, said that they need 20-25 water tankers every day to fill the water bodies so that the animals can drink water. He added that the residents of local villages who have water tankers are sending water on a daily basis which improved the situation.
Bains said that the youth clubs in the neighbouring villages contributed financially which made their work easy and they are continuously working in the area.
“Many people come from Mohali or Chandigarh. They too donate money and also assist us. This effort has saved many animals but the main issue of de-silting of the dams is still not addressed,” he added.
Gurwinder Singh, a resident of Khijrabaad village, said that the administration should immediately work for the de-silting of the dams in the area. Otherwise, in the future more dams in the area will dry up like the Parch dam has dried up.
He stated that he, along with a team of his friends, used to go to the dam and help others in digging up water bodies and rescuing the animals.
The Parch dam is located at Parch village. Spread over around 88 acres of land, the dam was built in 1993 to make a lake of rainwater coming downhills from Shivalik ranges. But the local residents allege that the dam had not been de-silted for the past around 10-15 years due to which the water carrying capacity of the dam was reduced and it started drying up forcing hundreds of animals, dependent for drinking water from here, to die.
caption: Jaggi Bains, another local resident, who has been working to save the animals in the area, said that they need 20-25 water tankers every day to fill the water bodies so that the animals can drink water